An odd anniversary surprise dumped into Valorant by Riot Games has got all weird LOLs. So, what even is this? This patch brought 15 announcer voice line variants that won’t ever stand a chance against the usual calm robotic tone we have gotten used to throughout Valorant matches.
Shiick’s original tweet had a video clip featuring somewhat dark tones from this new voice: it sounded almost menacing while stating the word “Flawless” in an utterly different way. That was followed by waves of confusion mingled with excitement among the players. Hence, when some new thing gets covertly introduced into Valorant, the entire player base just goes into frenzy theorizing.
But the biggest question players want to ask is, “Who is this new voice?” and “Why is it here?” The majority of players are very much convinced it has something to do with the next agent coming into the game. I mean. Would that not make sense? Riot loves teasing new characters in odd ways. Another player, ItsBraumadan, pointed out that we already know that the next agent is an African male from past teasers, so this voice could almost match that. They even went to compare it with that of K’Sante from League of Legends, suggesting it might very well be the same voice actor. Which would, if you think about it, barely be surprising for the same voice actor to work between Harbor and Akshan or between Neon and Zeri; Riot loves employing a recurring talent.
That is until the other half presents a less exciting theory and speculates that this has got to do with a Halloween event. I mean, it’s got to feel creepy enough to count for October 31st; that’s obvious. Another player, ItsC2K, said something to the effect of “that’s gotta be for a Halloween event!” while nickcamejo agreed; “Yeah, maybe a spooky game mode.” And honestly, a Halloween event for Valorant sounds spectacular. Picture a limited-time-event featuring this creepy announcer! Count me in.
Back to the serious stuff-now some of them fear that this might actually be turned into a money grab by Riot. “Who is going to bet that they gonna sell announcer packs,” joked ThatHartleyKat, Which, in all fairness, DOES sound like the next thing Riot would do. Ghkasra1384 also put in a different perspective: “Dota 2 has custom announcers since 2011 so it’s nothing new for games,” but if Valorant had agent-specific announcers… that would be the bomb and costly.
And thus began random and populist comparisons. It “sounded like Baptiste from Overwatch,” another said, someone else claimed “Reyna vibes,” and yet another thought it sounded like a character from Blue Lock. The internet, my friend.
And what got the internet in a frenzy is that according to the original tweet and although the map in the video is completely irrelevant: So whatever this is, it’s not tied to any location. Just… new audio. Deepens the mystery. Is it a teaser for the next agent? Awesome Halloween event? Just some Riot testing for features to monetize in the future? Honestly, it could be all three.
KangaRogue has another excellent point: Chamber’s voice was heard in the Fracture map trailer before he was introduced. So this might be the same sort of tease. It is a good hype without showing any visuals. Just voice leaving everyone guessing.
And the dark ones are pervasive: some think it could be part of a Harbor rework, as kasiiaaa10 suggested, but that’s less likely. Others, like Echo_t_0805, hope it’s for a new event game mode about mega spike testing in Paris. Which, okay, that’s specific, but hey, anything’s possible.
The community is highly excited about what’s coming. Domowens_ really begged for the new agent to be a “SUPER HOT MUSCLE DADDY CONTROLLER LIKE HARBOR,” so you know what some people’s priorities are.
At the end of the day, though, Riot definitely knows how to keep the conversation going. Adding new mysterious voice lines with no explanations is such a trademark and it works. In less than no time, police have taken apart every second of audio, compared it to existing characters, and are now dreaming up all kinds of crazy possibilities. Whether it’s Agent 25 or a Halloween Event or just the precursor to the sale of announcer packs, one thing’s for sure-Valorant players ARE paying good and close attention.
And honestly, I’m down with that one. The game could use more of these weird little secrets that make the world feel MUCH bigger and alive, even if we don’t know what it means yet. So for your notice, next time while charging, keep your ears wide open; you might be hearing something new.
